--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Going back to California is not like…" description: "\"Going back to California is not like going back to Vermont, or Chicago; Vermont and Chicago are relative constants, against which one measures one's ow..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/joan-didion-497_california_going-back-to-california-is-not-like-goi_1611292.jpg" --- # Going back to California is not like going back to… ![“Going back to California is not like going back to Vermont, or Chicago; Vermont and Chicago are relative constants, against which one measures one's own change. All that is constant about the California of my childhood is the rate at which it disappears.” quote by Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/joan-didion-497_california_going-back-to-california-is-not-like-goi_1611292.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/joan-didion-497_california_going-back-to-california-is-not-like-goi_1611292.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/joan-didion-497_california_going-back-to-california-is-not-like-goi_1611292.jpg) > “Going back to California is not like going back to Vermont, or Chicago; Vermont and Chicago are relative constants, against which one measures one's own change. All that is constant about the California of my childhood is the rate at which it disappears.” [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. California’s change is measured against stable places like Vermont, showing personal transformation tied to place. **In simple terms:** California changes while other places stay the same. Key Takeaway Recognize how environments shape personal growth. Themes change place identity memory impermanence Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - moving homes - reflecting on childhood - urban development Key Concepts Nostalgia geography self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - How does your environment influence your sense of self? - What constants anchor you amid change? A Different Perspective The comparison may oversimplify complex regional differences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [California](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/california/) [Chicago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chicago/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Vermont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vermont/) ## Related quotes > [“Any seed or insect or lizard or mammal that found itself in LA had to believe that there was a chance to thrive. Living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/any-seed-or-insect-or-lizard-or-mammal-that-found-itself-in-la-had-to/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [I'm from California so, I always like to think that the weather in California is the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandin-cooks/i-m-from-california-so-i-always-like-to-think-that-the-weather-in/) [Brandin Cooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandin-cooks/) > [“California is like a Nazi state with palm trees”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sandford/california-is-like-a-nazi-state-with-palm-trees/) [John Sandford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sandford/) > [California is like a beautiful wild kid on heroin, high as a kite and thinking she's on top of the world, not knowing she's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/california-is-like-a-beautiful-wild-kid-on-heroin-high-as-a-kite-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In California, I do like to just chill out and go to the beach, but I love the energy here. I feel very productive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-greene/in-california-i-do-like-to-just-chill-out-and-go-to-the-beach-but-i/) [Ashley Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-greene/) > [“About a billion cops,” Darling said. “You move there, you’ll have fifty government workers looking at you, checking your tax records, asking where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sandford/about-a-billion-cops-darling-said-you-move-there-you-ll-have-fifty/) [John Sandford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sandford/) > [California is like the Mecca of the film industry. Everyone's seen California.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-chestnut/california-is-like-the-mecca-of-the-film-industry-everyone-s-seen/) [Morris Chestnut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-chestnut/) > [“the weather in northern california is like your body at 16, you just don't feel it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tania-schrag/the-weather-in-northern-california-is-like-your-body-at-16-you-just/) Tania Schrag > [I'm originally from southern California, so I, like, say 'like', like, a lot. I've been trying to scrub any traces of Valley Girl from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-wilson/i-m-originally-from-southern-california-so-i-like-say-like-like-a-lot/) [Mara Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-wilson/) > [California is like an artificial limb the rest of the country doesn't really need. You can quote me on that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/california-is-like-an-artificial-limb-the-rest-of-the-country-doesn-t/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“What’s California like?” Jared asked after another minute’s silence. “Warm, very sunny,” Catherine replied. “They’ve got almost everything they need there. They can grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-edward/what-s-california-like-jared-asked-after-another-minute-s-silence/) [Robert Edward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-edward/) > [California is like the hot blond high school chick who's been getting by on her looks, but now she's 45 and falling apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-carolla/california-is-like-the-hot-blond-high-school-chick-who-s-been-getting/) [Adam Carolla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-carolla/) > [If you want to surf, move to Hawaii. If you like to shop, move to New York. If you like acting and Hollywood, move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-williams/if-you-want-to-surf-move-to-hawaii-if-you-like-to-shop-move-to-new/) [Ricky Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-williams/) > [As the longest serving Independent in the history of the United States Congress, as somebody who came into office by defeating an incumbent Democratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/as-the-longest-serving-independent-in-the-history-of-the-united/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I've been a skier since I was 2 or 3, skiing with my dad in northern New York and Vermont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elise-stefanik/i-ve-been-a-skier-since-i-was-2-or-3-skiing-with-my-dad-in-northern/) [Elise Stefanik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elise-stefanik/) ## More by Joan Didion > [To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-shift-the-structure-of-a-sentence-alters-the-meaning-of-that/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I work every day. Sometimes I don't accomplish anything every day, but if I don't work every day, I get depressed and get afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-work-every-day-sometimes-i-don-t-accomplish-anything-every-day-but/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Style is character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/style-is-character/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/california-is-a-place-in-which-a-boom-mentality-and-a-sense-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I went because I was interested in the alchemy of issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-went-because-i-was-interested-in-the-alchemy-of-issues/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Why did I write it down? In order to remember, of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to remember? How much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/why-did-i-write-it-down-in-order-to-remember-of-course-but-exactly/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I no longer want reminders of what was, what got broken, what got lost, what got wasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-no-longer-want-reminders-of-what-was-what-got-broken-what-got-lost/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [My mother 'gave teas' the way other mothers breathed. Her own mother 'gave teas.' All of their friends 'gave teas,' each involving butter cookies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/my-mother-gave-teas-the-way-other-mothers-breathed-her-own-mother/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I'm not very interested in people. I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-m-not-very-interested-in-people-i-recognize-it-in-myself-there-is-a/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Was there ever in anyone's life span a point free in time, devoid of memory, a point when choice was any more than sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/was-there-ever-in-anyone-s-life-span-a-point-free-in-time-devoid-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Research to date has shown that, like many other stressors, grief frequently leads to changes in the endocrine, immune, autonomic nervous, and cardiovascular systems;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/research-to-date-has-shown-that-like-many-other-stressors-grief/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“By the end of the week she was thinking constantly about where her body stopped and the air began about the exact point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/by-the-end-of-the-week-she-was-thinking-constantly-about-where-her/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I just can't see the upside in this," I heard myself say by way of explanation. Later he said that if John had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-just-can-t-see-the-upside-in-this-i-heard-myself-say-by-way-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [ I read so ravenously that I would read through whole categories. I was crazy about reading biographies. \[...\] I think biographies are very urgent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-read-so-ravenously-that-i-would-read-through-whole-categories-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [To those of us who remained committed mainly to the exploration of moral distinctions and ambiguities, the feminist analysis may have seemed a particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-those-of-us-who-remained-committed-mainly-to-the-exploration-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) [Explore all 515 Joan Didion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## More California quotes > [Everyone in California is from somewhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/everyone-in-california-is-from-somewhere-else/) [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [We need to incorporate that age-old concept of redemption into the work that we do in the criminal justice system in California.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/we-need-to-incorporate-that-age-old-concept-of-redemption-into-the/) [Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/) > [The Urban Literate Southern California Sub-Group of the Early Atomic Period has not yet produced a distinct body of folk music of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hinton/the-urban-literate-southern-california-sub-group-of-the-early-atomic/) Sam Hinton > [California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/california-is-a-place-in-which-a-boom-mentality-and-a-sense-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Many militarists would like to see California's votes vanish from the national electoral system, which would then become more Republican.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-swanson/many-militarists-would-like-to-see-california-s-votes-vanish-from-the/) [David Swanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-swanson/) > [When I started in California, people would say, 'Enterprise who?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-nicholson/when-i-started-in-california-people-would-say-enterprise-who/) [Pamela Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-nicholson/) > [Take one round-trip flight between New York and California, and you've generated about 20 percent of the greenhouse gases that your car emits over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/take-one-round-trip-flight-between-new-york-and-california-and-you-ve/) [Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/) > [These French-style caramels are handmade in California. It's always hard to give them away!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/these-french-style-caramels-are-handmade-in-california-it-s-always/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [The D.C. playbook is obsolete. It's time for the people of California to bring the agenda to Washington, not the other way around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-de-leon/the-d-c-playbook-is-obsolete-it-s-time-for-the-people-of-california/) [Kevin de Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-de-leon/) > [While there is an attempt by the Trump people to say that California isn't really America. California certainly seems like America to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-frum/while-there-is-an-attempt-by-the-trump-people-to-say-that-california/) [David Frum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-frum/) > [I'm from California, but my father, who passed away when I was young, was from Newark. When I was kid, we would go back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-daly/i-m-from-california-but-my-father-who-passed-away-when-i-was-young/) [Carson Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-daly/) > [“God will break California from the surface of the continent like someone breaking off a piece of chocolate. It will become its own floating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ruby/god-will-break-california-from-the-surface-of-the-continent-like/) [Laura Ruby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ruby/) > [You could have a hit in California that no one had heard of in Oklahoma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wanda-jackson/you-could-have-a-hit-in-california-that-no-one-had-heard-of-in/) [Wanda Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wanda-jackson/) > [My first encounter with yoga was in 1969 with my older brother Doug. I was thirteen years old, and he was eighteen. He'd learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-swensen/my-first-encounter-with-yoga-was-in-1969-with-my-older-brother-doug-i/) [David F. Swensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-swensen/) [Browse all 2,036 California quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/california/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Going back to California is not like going back to Vermont, or Chicago; Vermont and Chicago are relative constants, against which one measures one's own change. 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